U.M. INSURANCE - EX PARTE SAFEWAY INS. CO. OF ALABAMA, INC

Ex parte Safeway Ins. Co. of Alabama, Inc., [Ms. 1120439, Oct. 4, 2013] ___ So. 3d ___ (Ala. 2013). Plaintiff sued his insurer Safeway for breach of contract and bad faith failure to pay his uninsured motorist claim. Safeway moved to dismiss the bad faith claim, arguing that the circuit court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over a bad faith claim until there was an adjudication of the contract claim. The circuit court denied the motion, Safeway petitioned for mandamus, and the Supreme Court denies the mandamus petition. Safeway cites to cases holding that a bad faith claim should be dismissed as unripe where the tort action against the uninsured motorist has not been adjudicated. The Court here holds that the question is not one of subject matter jurisdiction, so the motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) was properly denied.